A United Airlines flight attendant has come under fire for wearing a Palestinian flag pin onboard a flight from Chicago to Newark, but United is standing behind the flight attendant and supporting her right to wear such a divisive pin.
United Airlines Stands Behind Flight Attendant Who Wore Controversial Palestinian Flag Pin
The Jewish civil rights organization StopAntisemitism first noted the incident, which took place on a flight from Chicago (ORD) to Newark (EWR). The (unnamed) flight attendant was not only wearing a Palestinian flag pin below her nametag, but also a keffiyeh-patterned lanyard around her neck (traditional male headdress).
"Pride"
Really @united ?? https://t.co/4p9LyB96T7
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 27, 2024
We’ve seen similar incidents on JetBlue and Delta Air Lines. And indeed, both responded by banning all flag pins except for the American flag pin.
But United is defending the right of its flight attendants to wear such pins. It says:
“Our uniform policy has long included an option for flight attendants to wear flag pins to designate specific language skills so that our customers who are more comfortable in a language other than English can know who on our crew speaks their preferred language.
Which is reasonable…but United continues:
“We also allow flight attendants to wear flag pins that represent their pride in a place to which they may have a special connection.”
Yikes.
Does United allow Taiwain pins on flights to Mainland China? Nazi Germany or Apartheid South Africa pins? The Confederate rebel battle flag pins?
Apples and oranges? All, including the Palestinian flag, represent ideologies of conquest and superiority. Just listen to Yahya Sinwar…
This is not a smart move on United’s part….and of course, the “pride” comment and the flight attendant’s adjacent rainbow-colored “Equal” pin is particularly ironic in the Gaza Strip or West Bank…
As I’ve argued before, it makes sense to ban such controversial pins while in uniform, even if it reflects an unfortunate reality of incivility; a time in which we cannot tolerate opposing views on highly-controversial issues. The pins became a distraction and undermine the primary mission of an airline to provide safe, reliable, and quality air transport. The ban is therefore appropriate because of the passions that an Israeli or particularly a Palestinian flag pin inflame. Russian versus Ukrainian flag pins may evoke the same reaction.
I do love it when flight attendants wear flag pins to designate what language(s) they speak. I also loved it when Emirates once had flag pins to show where its diverse crews came from and what languages they spoke.
Take Arabic, for example. There is no “Arabic” flag. Rather, there are dozens of nations in which Arabic is spoken and many have distinct dialects or nuances. If a flight attendant is from Gaza or the West Bank and speaks Arabic, I think a Palestinian flag pin is quite appropriate.
But unless the flight attendant above spoke Arabic with a Palestinian dialect, she had no business wearing that pin in uniform.
And I’m quite surprised that United has taken a much different approach to this issue than Delta or JetBlue. Part of me wishes we could wear our respective pins and respectfully debate. But that’s not the country or nation we live in and United should not subject passengers to such incivility when that flag stands for hate and terror to so many Israeli and Jewish passengers.
Palestinian flag stands for terror? Really Mathew???
“From The River To The Sea…”
Do you deny what the government in Gaza and even the West Bank has said about Israel and her right to exist?
A flag does not necessarily have a single meaning.
Netanyahu opposes Palestine’s right to exist. He is very heavy handed. Too many hotheads. There should be 1948 or at least ¹967 borders, not Israel controlling from the river to the sea.
What would happen to an Iranian FA who wore an Israel flag ? How about a Pakistan FA who wore an India flag ?
The FA wearing the flag pin likely never joined her beloved foreign military ,
Enough with the flag pins , already /
Matthew, thanks for this. It’s one of the best explanations I’ve seen for what’s objectively problematic about wearing the Gazan flag.
I’d just like to add a few points to the discussion, if that’s okay…
Seeing as Palestine is not a real country, but a Roman-established region which includes the ancient land of Israel – plus Gaza isn’t a real country, but an ancient region with in the ancient land of Israel – the flag obviously expresses political meaning by representing a group, not a country (especially since Arabic wouldn’t have traditionally been the majority language of “Palestine” when its Latin name was first imposed upon the area, but rather Hebrew or Aramaic – maybe Latin or Greek, depending – or going back further, whatever the migrating Philistines spoke; hardly any Palestinians can even pronounce it, so they either say “Balestine” or “Falastin”).
The only reason to wear a Palestinian flag is for political reasons, not to express what language one speaks, regardless of the disingenuous excuse given by the wearer.
An American flag can signify American English, though I’ve seen the English flag used as the universal symbol for English (which makes sense: England=English).
In fact, airlines could stipulate only specific flags as representing specific languages, much the way many non-British websites use the English flag to signify English.
Same with a Russian flag expressing the ability to speak Russian, a Chinese flag symbolizing the ability to speak Chinese, etc.
Just because someone doesn’t like the country doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem with wearing a flag meant ONLY to signal a language.
For example, if a flight attendant wears the Iranian flag solely to express the ability to speak Farsi, what’s the problem with that? How else would one non-verbally signal their Farsi ability?
I live in Israel and we’ve been attacked by Iran, but I’d have no problem seeing a flight attendant wearing an Iranian flag meant to signify the ability to speak Farsi.
(Additionally, many Iranians have no problem with Jews and don’t want a war with anyone. There’s a massive swathe of the Iranian population not represented by their government.)
But again, a Palestinian flag is ONLY a political statement. There’s no other reason to wear one.
What’s with all the “Flag” nonsense ? Socrates did not have a “Flag” . Hillel the Elder did not have a flag . If I declared my own sovereignty I would not need a Flag . Enough with the Flags .
I support champagne . My flag would be a champagne bottle with the cork pulled .
do YOU DENY what the Isnotreali government is doing to the Palestinians now?
Do you DENY what the American government did to the ‘savage’ native Americans in the past?
Would you be against a flight attendant who wore a flag from one of those countries?
I think not, cuz your BIAS is clear as day….
Your repeated “Isnotreali” comment shows there is no hope for this conflict. You’re a bigot and a hater and delusional. You’re a sick human being.
So interesting that you worry more about a flag than a genocide happening right before our eyes with our tax dollars. You’ve shown your true colors. Furthermore, freeing Palestinians from river to the sea means just that, if freedom of other human beings threatens you then you should check your humanity or the lack of.
Don’t insult me. You know exactly what from the river to the seat means.
Israel is a genocidal state at the rate they’re going.
The only people calling for genocide and actively trying to carry it out are the Muslim-Arabs in Gaza. Israelis are only acting in self-defense.
On October 7th, the Gazans invaded and slaughtered the pro-Palestinian Israelis who’d supported and helped them the most.
It absolutely does. Those animals slaughtered innocent Israelis; raping (then slaughtering) women, slaughtering babies, murdering kids. They’re cowardly pieces of subhuman crap and the idea of a FA wearing the pin celebrating them and the 90% of so-called Palestinians who support them is abhorrent. She might as well wear a KKK hood to work.
And, as far as I’m concerned, whatever happens to Gaza was asked for – and is deserved.
Not sure where you get your information but maybe half of that is true and considering what Israel has put Palestine through for 7+ decades, October 7 is a drop in the bucket compared to what israel deserves. This woman wears a pin that stands for humanity and against genocide. Anyone who has a problem with it is the problem.
Nearly all the Israelis living in the kibbutzim supported a Palestinian state in Gaza.
They always voted on behalf of the Palestinians, including voting for political parties in favor of Palestinians and some drove for hours to attend protests on behalf of Palestinians.
They gave Gazans work permits, employment, and toys for their children.
They gave them food, clothing, and gifts (even though many did not need it; I personally spoke with people who’ve been in Gazan homes and reported them as VERY nicely appointed with lots of gold jewelry to boot).
At their own expense and taking off time from work, these Israelis from these kibbutzim picked up ill Gazan children at the border, drove them to various hospitals for treatment of leukemia, etc., then picked them up from the hospitals, and drove them back – this entails hours of driving, plus fuel, which is expensive here.
One Jewish-Israeli woman did this on her own dime (including paying for her own gasoline) EVERY WEEK for the sake of these Palestinian children.
These same Gazan Palestinians murdered her on October 7th.
These Palestinians dismembered, tortured, abducted, and murdered all these Israelis who did everything possible to cater to the demands of Palestinians in Gaza.
And you insist these Israelis who were so compassionately devoted to the Palestinians deserved this slaughter?
You think people who cater to all your demands, join protests on your behalf, and give to you of their time, money, and possessions should be dismembered?
Kumbaya, babe.
Why keep repeating LIES?? Those isnotreali PROPGANDA have been prove to be NOT TRUE, even by the ISnotreal media.
THe only ones killing babies and raping women (AND MEN) are the ITF(isnotreal terrorist force)!
Have you ever read the Hamas Covenant, their constitution? It specific calls for Jihad against the Jewish people, laments that the Holocaust purportedly didn’t go far enough, and calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Your bigotry is much louder than your feigned indignation, pal.
This is a foolish FA. She wears the rainbow pin but would be slaughered by Palestians for trying to be “out” as a lesbian. What a stupid fool.
Any pin is a fool which wishes to Stick others with it’s sharp end .
Who cares. Just because a bunch of people may wish me dead doesn’t mean I am going to wish for their families and communities to be wiped off the face of the planet or subject to forced displacement. Acting like a monster to remove a monster is a monstrosity. Be human and humane, or you become less distinguishable from the monster you claim to hate and oppose.
That’s an aspirational theoretical framework, but what do you do when your neighbors are abducted or rockets are continually launched toward your town or village?
We have to again make the WWII analogy. The US butchered women and children in German and Japanese cities. It was morally questionable but was necessary to end the war and safeguard liberty for everyone, including the surviving Germans and Japanese, who have become–80 years later–economic powerhouses and beacons of stability.
Oh, but weapons are more precise today, you might say.
Yes, they are – imagine the carnage if Israel had only WWII-era weapons with which to defend itself.
I have experience from when a close relative was kidnapped by militant actors who probably identified as being Muslim, but it required no aspiration on my part to avoid becoming like the Israelofascists in the Israeli government who — for their own self-serving purposes and with no respect for international law or human decency — are deliberately exploitative of any and all criminal endeavors by “the other” and do what they can to run up the racism level near and far and advance their unlawful land grab agenda. The Rabbi Meir Kahane mentality has infected Israel, and those of that thinking are no friend of humanity in their continuing endeavor to delay and deny Palestinians a right to self-determination or equality which they reserve for themselves but would deny the Palestinians and others in the lands that they covet.
And by the way, not everyone supportive of equal rights for LGBTQ+ persons are LGBTQ+. Many who support with rainbow flag symbols are as CIS heterosexual as it gets — although we don’t all have twisted fantasies of being breeders like Elon Musk and Pavel Durov or that Dutch guy with a couple of hundred of kids or more due to a lot of sperm donations.
But that strikes me as a non-sequitur.
Here we are not saying that many non-gay people support gay rights. You do. I do. Great.
Here, we are saying that people oddly support people who would have them killed for acting upon a biological trait. And whose government is killing the very people who defend their rights to express themselves outside of a patriarchal, male-dominated hierarchy.
People are so micro-focused on the deaths in Gaza when world history shows us that death and violence is sometimes necessary to stave off even worse evil…to ultimately protect more life and the right to liberty.
Not all Palestinians are terrorists. Both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist. I agree what Hamas did in October was wrong, but what Israel has done to Gaza and the Palestinians is also wrong. Of course, you include stories in your blog to incite controversy and comments and demonstrate your bias in many of your posts.
I am biased (we all are) and I do believe Palestinians have a right to exist without fear. SO DOES ISRAEL.
Israel will take care of itself .
so they have a right to exist…just not wear a flag pin?
really? stopping pretending to support palestinians right to exist.
Stop attacking Israel. Hand over the hostages. Throw out Hamas. Bring Yahya Sinwar’s head on a silver platter as a peace offering, and recognize Isreal’s right to exist. Reconciliation is possible.
Nearly all Palestinians would disagree with you. Polls show overwhelming support among so-called Palestinians for Hamas and for the atrocities they inflicted in October. Supporting “Palestine” is akin to supporting the Third Reich.
The FA should be fired for insensitivity and for pure ignorance in actually thinking that an LGBTQ pin and a Palestinian pin can coexist without the latter stoning it to death.
The FA is just really stupid – I would educate her, not fire her.
Matthew, I don’t think you’re in a position to educate anyone – appearing so simple and narrow minded, especially for someone who purports to travel the world (apparently not much substance outside a J class cabin or hotel room). It’s also patronizing to the female FA for the crime of having a more developed worldview than yourself.
The modern state of Israel was created by killing or removing, and replacing, the people who were already living there, and setting an ethnic standard for who would be welcome in the future, and who would not. Sound familiar?
Many of these Palestinian people, and their descendants, are in Gaza today by force, with no means to leave. This problem was created by Israel, and Israel’s creation, but apparently the burden to fix it is on those who were displaced ??
To reduce all Palestinians as homophobes, as you’ve done here, is racist. I don’t think you’ve ever met one nor traveled through an Israeli checkpoint to the occupied West Bank – which is why you’re able to so comfortably speak of them in such reductive terms, and strip them of their humanity.
For shame. Guess I shouldn’t expect much else from a German… you will not absolve your own dark history by perpetuating it on a different group of people, or whoever you deem less deserving to live a life of dignify and freedom. Btw, United is demonstrating itself as a truly global airline (btw with more flights to Israel than any other carrier combined) – you could learn a thing or two… or three.
Can’t wait for the next post, or maybe just stick to cc promos ?
I’ve been all over the West Bank including Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron…so don’t make ASSumptions. Many trip reports on this blog, including my own interactions at Israeli checkpoints. Keep reading…
Don’t twist my words either. Nowhere did I call all Palestinian people homophobes.
And talk about racism, lol. You reduce my support for Israel to being German (a fourth-generation US citizen).
And your bottom line is one of genocide…not for the Palestinians, but for the people of Israel. You conclude they don’t belong there…
Look in the mirror dude, you’re the one advocating for barbarism and laughably delusional like other muttonheads who think they are erudite but actually are just close-minded, poorly-educated, bigots…and hypocrites.
Even more pathetic then, that you experienced life through their eyes, but still somehow see their humanity as secondary to the reparations project you suffer such blind allegiance too. Or idk, maybe it’s biblical for you, in which case, why bother interacting with us mortal ?
And does Matthew think German is a race ?? Uh oh…
Not sure where you’re seeing the barbarism in my initial comment ? Project much ? Or does the truth hurt.
Anyways, don’t stop flying the friendly skies. But maybe do stop ‘making tough decisions’ to justify mass murder (based on ethnicity) from behind your keyboard. (We both know you won’t).
Like Angry Flier noted, no poll of actual Palestinians agrees with Ron’s belief.
They always advocate war and terror against Jews, along with the complete takeover of Israel.
In a recent poll, 74% of Palestinians in the West Bank approved the slaughter of Jews on October 7th as a great idea and expressed their desire to carry it out themselves.
There’s more than one reason why no other Muslim-Arab country will take in their fellow Muslim-Arab Palestinians.
The Muslim-Arab that do allow a Palestinian population (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, etc.) in their midst severely curtail the rights and opportunities for their Palestinians.
Jordan has kept a couple million of its Palestinians in decrepit refugee camps since the Jordanian army slaughtered thousands of them in the Seventies. Saudi Arabia refuses to provide citizenship for any Palestinian who arrived after 1950 and keeps them as foreign workers who must constantly renew their work permits.
Israeli-Arabs view them as primitive, volatile, and a bit too quick to use a butcher knife in an argument, and don’t want them in their neighborhoods (this tidbit from a personal conversation my Arabic-speaking son had with his Muslim-Arab boss).
A friend who visited her parents in a Jewish city across the valley from the West Bank village of Nahalin called Israeli security after hearing continuous machine-gun fire from the Palestinian village. (Most Muslims in Israel, whether Israeli-Arab or Palestinian, own at least one AK-47.)
The security agents told her, “Yes, we know. They’re in the middle of a family disagreement. But don’t worry; we’re keeping tabs on it. If it starts to expand outside their village, then we’ll intervene.”
Do you use AK-47s in family disagreements?
Peace ‘n’ love, man.
Question for you Matt – let’s say an individual (not necessarily a flight attendant) wants to wear a symbol to support Gaza civilians, including the theoretical right for Gaza civilians to have citizenship in a non-terrorist state. They believe that Gaza civilians are bearing too much pain in this situation and want to express that view. And assume these people have no antisemitism in their bodies whatsoever. Does the “Palestinian” flag not qualify? I honestly have sympathy for many on both sides of this debate, as well as a strong dislike for many on both sides of this debate. But the idea that there can be no legitimate way to express support for those on the Gaza side strikes me as wrong.
I absolutely stipulate that the flag can mean that…but because it can also symbolize terror, racism, and oppression…a flight attendant should not wear one in uniform.
Many (not me) would also claim these flags represent “terror, racism and oppression”:
– USA
– Israel
– UK
– India
– China
– Russia
– Ukraine
– Saudi Arabia
Etc
Leave this well meaning FA alone. Maybe her boss can encourage her to support her causes in other ways. But this hyperbole from you here is poor form IMO
That’s why no one should wear flag pins in uniform.
So a flight attendant should also not wear an Israeli flag, correct? Because it symbolizes oppression and terror to Palestinian Arabs and others in the region, correct?
(The US flag is also a symbol of violent imperialism and conquest haha).
Yes, during this time Israeli flag pins should be left at home too.
You don’t realize that Israel has made synonymous the star of David with oppression, racism, terrorism, supremacy, rape, murder? So should we call out anyone that wears the star of David? Because it can mean the religion of God and kindness, or it can have the terrible meanings Israel has enshrined itself in. Search in Google the original modern day terrorism, and you will see that the first terror act was carried out by Jews in Palestine pre-1948.
Be careful what you wish for..instead, aim for finding a shared perspective to understand other humans. Racism is about divisions. Something Israel has weaponized to create itself.
Reading the post again, equating the mainline Palestinian flag to Nazi Germany, apartheid South Africa and Confederate flags is pretty far out and frankly offensive. If it were something like a Hamas or Al Qaeda flag, I could see your point.
Were there not good people with bad governments in Nazi Germany and Apartheid South Africa too?
1) I personally don’t view the Palestinian flag, as used by many, as a symbol of any “government.” I think many view it as a symbol of Palestinian civilians.
2) I would say there were no “good people” in the Nazi “government” given the Nazi government’s stated ideology,
. South Africa may be a tad different, but the South African flag today is seen as a segregationist symbol.
Anthony, and in all sincerity many see the Confederate batte flag as a flag of heritage, liberty, and states’ rights, not of racial subjugation, chattel slavery, and racism. That doesn’t make it so.
Do you not see it as arrogant that you seem to see the Palestinian flag as equivalent to Hamas when it represents all of Palestine, including the people of the West Bank who rejected Hamas?
In my experience , the southern confederate stars and bars represents Excellent American Soldiers and Fighters , and good friends when the going gets tough . Give me a southern teammate any day , and I know he will have my back . I knew one nicknamed “Shadow” , and , merely by him sharpening his knife , he evoked security .
74% of Muslim-Arabs on the West Bank have said they think the horror on October 7th was a good idea and they’d like to carry out the same slaughter and pillage.
In Gaza, the Muslim-Arabs who do not support Hamas simply support another terrorist group (like Army of Islam or Jihad Battalion or Fatah, etc.).
So yes, rdover1, the Palestinian flag doesn’t just represent Hamas; it represents Palestinian terrorism with an emphasis on terror against Jews specifically.
The very few actual good germans became victims of the bad germans . The many middle-of-road germans became informers . The many bad germans were quite numerous .
Just like Democrats during Covid!
**Reading the post again, equating the mainline Palestinian flag to Nazi Germany, apartheid South Africa and Confederate flags is pretty far out and frankly offensive. **
Actually, the comparison is spot on. Flags that celebrate hateful, misguided, ignorant racists. That you are unable to perceive the obvious is pretty astonishing.
I think you mean the USA and isnorteali flags.
Bravo, Matthew. Your linking United’s policy on a Palestinian pin to having a right to wear Confederate, KKK, Nazi or Apartheid pins is spot on. Your common sense once more wins the day. And the argument.
+100
Unfortunately, Mathew is right on.
I hope that the war in Gaza will finish soon and a new government will be elected which supports a peaceful solution to all sides living in harmony.
Until then… it’s literally a Nazi government…
For United States Of America citizens, the Declaration Of Independence states that we have the right of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It does not guarantee happiness. Nor does it and the Constitution grant the right not to be offended. While distasteful to some, it is not illegal. The First Amendment guarantees the “freedom of speech”. Congress shall not make a LAW… However, The categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, and fighting words. Deciding what is or is not “free speech” is reserved for the courts of law to decide and ultimately the Supreme Court Of The United States if pushed that far.
First Amendment restricts the government’s ability to silence free speech. United Airlines is not subject to that.
Yes but United is not Congress and they are perfectly able to set and enforce a uniform policy that does not include flags…to the point of termination. You apparently don’t know what the 1st amendment protects, what it doesn’t and what is subject to interpretation.
There is a time and place to express your views and IMHO the workplace is not one of them. If a FA wore anything pro MAGA people would be apoplectic.
Exactly . United would tell the FA to remove anything “maga” in a New York second ..
So Matt by your logic, all the sentatoes and congress members should not be wearing Israeli flag pins correct?
Where is your outrage there?
Do you support open air prison camps?
Do you support rights to self determination?
Do you support the right to return home?
Or are you just a Zionist shill? The mast majority of people support either a two state or single state solution, but the current Israeli government supports neither because they are happy with the status quo and any equal rights to ALL the pole in isreal would effectively mean more ‘Arab people’ control
Members of Congress are free to wear what they want and will be judged accordingly by voters. Quite different than an employee wearing a divisive message in uniform.
lol. Period. Full stop.
At this juncture you are embarrassing yourself.
Rules for thee not for me.
What employees can wear while in uniform on company time versus what they can wear on their own time is very different.
Surely you are not too dense to realize that, right?
No Matt, you seem to be the dense one.
You are a lawyer correct? What part of United’s response on uniform policy says pins are not allowed?
“We also allow flight attendants to wear flag pins that represent their pride in a place to which they may have a special connection.”
Seems to me the pin is allowed under the above quoted response United has given.
We are not talking about what is allowed. Of course, United has made clear such pins are allowed. I’m arguing it’s bad policy, not that the FA is breaking any internal rules.
Shut your anti-Semitic, Jew-hating terrorist pie-hole, you rag-head terrorist wannabe turd.
Your mother blows goats.
For the record, I am Jewish, and being anti zionist is not being antisemitic you keyboard warrior
@Bark, both the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I disagree with your statement. You are clearly one of those self-loathing, Jew-hating Jews who only identifies as Jewish when condemning Israel. As my grandmother, of blessed memory, would have said: Gai en dret und bach bagels.
Oh the arrogance required in telling a Jewish person what kind of Jewish person they are and doing so on the basis of believing that a Jewish person’s idea of Judaism and being Jewish is inferior just because of criticism of the crooked Netanyahu regime and inhumane and illegal government actions. It requires the kind of arrogance befitting the God of Antisemitism and of who knows what else. The kind of arrogance that made Satan a fallen angel, right?
@Bark, both the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I disagree with your statement. You are clearly one of those self-loathing, Jew-hating Jews who only identifies as Jewish when condemning Israel. As my grandmother, of blessed memory, would have said: Gai en dret und bach bagels.
Anti genocide Jews reflect actual Jewish values such as never again means never again for anyone. Israel’s government is openly supporting ethnic cleansing and Palestine’s flag is a symbol of terror. You have that backwards, Israel is more aligned with the Nazi party than any government in modern history.
White supremacist. You would have been a slave owner and proudly justified it.
Another one to sensationalize. Stick to writing travel blogs.
This is directly related to travel.
“All, including the Palestinian flag, represent ideologies of conquest and superiority.”
Doesn’t the U.S. have territories that have no representation in Congress, and Congress can take away their modicum of independence at any time?
And didn’t George W. Bush take over two countries, install their governments and leaders, and bail when things got difficult?
Bush didn’t bail, but your point again just shows that flag pins should be left at home unless desginating what language is spoken.
Probably my last reply on this… I see protesters supporting Palestinians regularly in NYC. Some of the individuals are distasteful, but I simply don’t see a bunch of Palestinian flags and think “Oh, that is just like a bunch of Confederate or Nazi flags.” I just don’t, and I think most agree with me.
BTW, I just ordered a Israel/Palestine dual flag pin and will be wearing it on some flights
All these airlines these days don’t understand the definition of uniform.
I remember AirTran had from day one that every single person from F/A to CEO wore the one company-issued lanyard. No ifs, ands, or buts. Whether you worked HDQ or at the airport or in the cockpit of an airplane or a maintenance hangar. There was one option. The only pins allowed were company issued seniority pins or award pins (at which point they became a required part of your uniform) and F/As could wear one single color “afa” logo pin.
Concerning to me is the second part of the United statement, Giving support for employees to wear a flag pin to express a connection for something that gives them pride. This opens the door, allowing display of some very controversial subjects in the workspace. Anything can be fashioned as a flag and it is a uniform they wear, not a billboard.
@Maryland … +1 .
Agreed 100% Maryland.
Very happy that you have the guts to tell it like it is and not bowed to intimidation Matthew. And you put it all so articulately too. Bravo.
“… guts … tell it like it is … not bowed … articulately … ”
( That’s what you tell everyone .)
guts??? to back the MAJORITY OPINION??? that doesn’t take guts. He’s just trying to curry some money/support from AIPAC.
What would take GUTS would be to support this FA!
+1 Benjamin!
Just don’t fly United. Similar to your comment about Members of Congress being judged accordingly by voters, I judge United with my wallet.
All politicians have big wallets , big mouths , and no ethics. All voters have pea-size brains molded by television .
If someone supports Palestine then they should block traffic, not wear a pin…
Actually, if people wanted to support “Palestine,” they’d be opposing Hamas and its terrorist ways. The so-called Palestinian people (who, btw, have not been welcomed into a single Arab country) will never be “free” and will never have a “state” until they stop supporting terrorists and electing Hamas-lead governments
same for isnotreali. They won’t be free until they stop supporting their terrorist government, their terrorist army, and the terrorist isnoreali ILLEGAL SQUATTERS!
So I guess it is a fight to the death, then? I know what side I’m picking.
Your micro-empathy is macro-evil.
A very simplistic and short sighted argument that Tucker Carlson would be proud of.
What dribble. I make a much more nuanced argument than your superficial insult.
these articles are beyond tiresome…you clearly post them for clickbait, and the same predictable people say the same predictable things on both sides and you give your same replies to some of them. Rinse, repeat every few weeks so matthew can get his clicks…
its honestly worst then your normal articles on people flighting at the gate, since you are blatantly trying to monetize human suffering for your own personal gain.
No, you are wrong. This is not just for clicks/money but becuase it is an issue very near and dear to my heart. And it is also an issue that impacts the carrier I fly most and United took a very different approach to this than did Delta or JetBlue.
Uniform policy at airlines is an issue near and dear to your heart really? I get that United’s policy is different then others.
You can care about the Israel-Palestinian conflict all you want and you can have your opinion on it obviousy (which is obviously different then mine)….it just seems weird to find every tangential way possible to bring it into a travel blog which realistically has nothing to do with the conflict. And then have the same predictable discussions with the same people, talking past each other.
Your blog, enjoy the clicks.
You think this is about the clicks? It’s not.
Look at how divided people are. Look at how pissed people are…including you.
Lucky’s “down the middle” approach is the way to gain business by offending no one.
And that was the business model on this blog for the first 10+ years.
But if you noticed, I finally said “screw it” during the pandemic and decided I would start expressing my viewpoint more clearly and write about topics I found interesting, even when they strayed from the points/miles origin of this blog.
You hear about my Christian faith. You see me with my shirt off. You sort of get my political leanings, which are complex:
https://liveandletsfly.com/mass-gun-shootings/
Things I never would have done before. I never put a picture of myself up on the blog for years beyond that little James Bond “live and let’s live” theme picture which was more CGI than real…
I write about what interests me. This conflict interests me because I’ve been to the West Bank many times and I feel very sorry for the Palestinian lives that have been cut short, but I have a stronger belief that Israel is a force for good in the region and has every right to protect itself from terrorism.
War is a messy thing. As you point out, some accuse the US of genocide too. Too bad, so sad. I believe the US had to do what was necessary to win WWII. Tragic? Yes. But it probably ended up saving more lives in the long run.
Please no more outrage about what I write about. Feel free to (continue) to disagree with my opinions, though.
If I saw that Jew-hating shred of human debris on one of my flights, I’d demand to speak to the Captain, and insist that either the flight attendant be forced to remove that symbol of hate, or, alternatively, if the Captain refused to force her to remove that symbol of hate, ask that I be allowed to leave the plane as I would not feel safe being in a small metal tube with someone who supports the animals that have and continue to murder my friends and family. And yes, I do have family in Israel, and yes, I have a friend who was shot just a couple of months ago by one of those Iran-funded, Jew-hating pieces of garbage.
I suggest the latter option…. and in future select another, less PC airline other than UA !
If I’m on that plane, this anti-Semitic flight attendant is gonna get a faceful of my big, fat, Republican, Israel supporting [redacted by admin]!!
While this left-leaning, but staunchly pro-Israel pro-Zionist Democrat (who had family members who were a fundamental part of the founding of the modern Medinat Yisrael) fully agrees with your sentiment, I have to suspect that based on your identification, she’d probably need a magnifying glass to find it.
Criminal much? Given your statement of intent, that’s what you intend to be. You sound like you would fit right in with the “law and order” “support the blue” January 6th insurrectionists.
For what it’s worth, I think people should be able to wear what they please. Do I agree with everything? No. However, the world has become so soft and everything is attention seeking based with this new “woke” generation. You cannot even say “he” anymore with someone becoming offended. This is why I will be relocating somewhere out of this goshforsaken country.
My philosophy: people can do or say anything: as long as it doesn’t affect me or harm others physically. Cool article though to write about.
Stay in your lane Matt (travel).
Live and lets fly should mean what it says. Let other’s live their beliefs, and keep on flying.
You good with Nazi flags onboard? You know, live and let live…
so their is a NAZI state now? any people speak NAZI?
You argument is so fallacious….I don’t know how you can even be allowed to write here.
Both symbols of hate.
You’re the one that flaunts the new Nazi flag, with the star of David. False flag of Judaism, you hijacked a religion to justify white supremacy.
You perpetrated white on white crime in Europe, and said to the surviving white jews, “here you go, why don’t you do this to the arabs now.”
Never again just meant never again to be done to other whites.
Stop dressing up your racist supremacy policies. Manifest destiny. lebensraum. And now “chosen ones”
Nope, but I have to live with MAGA hats. Don’t like them, but fortunately, we still have some freedom of expression. You are a sadly biased person.
And just another comment regarding the idea of “innocent civilians” in Gaza…
There aren’t really innocent civilians in Gaza.
Opposers of Hamas simply support other terrorist groups.
Their only problem with Hamas is not getting a big enough piece of the pie for themselves.
If we just look at Gaza City, for example, the Hilas clan supports Fatah.
At one point, the Hilas clan engaged in bloody clashes against Hamas in Gaza – not to oppose Hamas’s attacks on Israel, but simply in an attempt to limit Hamas’s domination. The Fatah-supporting Hilas clan advocates terror against Jews.
Two other clans in Gaza City each founded their own terrorist groups: Army of Islam (which kidnapped Gilad Shalit) and the Jihad Battalion (or however you wish to translate “Kataib al-Mujahidin”), which abducted the young Jewish mother Shiri Bibas with her 4-year-old Ariel and her then 10-month-old Kfir (AKA “the redheads”) on October 7th.
The elderly, women, teenagers, and children fully participate in their clan’s chosen terrorist group, as evident from videos of their terrorist rallies (and their participation in the slaughter and looting on October 7th).
So if Hamas lost control of Gaza, you’d simply see Fatah or Army of Islam or Jihad Battalion in charge.
But terrorist groups aren’t the only problem in Gaza.
In Rafah, on the Gazan-Egyptian border, there are 2 crime families (or “crime clans,” if you will) who control the entire area. Both specialize in traffiking drugs, weapons, and human beings.
Traffickers aren’t classified as “terrorists,” but nor are they “innocent civilians.”
Also, a significant number of rockets fired by Muslim-Arab Gazan terrorists fall within Gaza, killing or maiming their fellow Muslim-Arab Gazans.
Please also remember that the Israelis attacked in the kibbutzim on October 7th were the biggest supporters of the Muslim-Arabs in Gaza – donating their time, money, and hearts to demand full rights for the Gazans, a Palestinian state, personally transporting (at their own expense) ill Gazan children to Israeli hospitals for medical care; these same Israeli Leftists provided Gazans with employment (which is how the Gazans were able to map out each kibbutz in order to maximize the slaughter and abductions), and gave their employees food, clothing, gifts, and toys for their children.
Look at what these Israeli Leftists received in return for all their generosity and devotion.
The Gazans didn’t attack Netanyahu or right-wingers. They knowingly attacked the people most devoted to them and their so-called cause.
P.S. As shown in a recent survey, 74% of Palestinians in what the media calls “the West Bank” think the slaughter of October 7th was a great idea and would themselves like to carry out that same exact kind of attack.
Ex combat infantry here : Unfortunately , reality points toward a protracted counter-guerilla war .
Everything would be simpler if Egypt accepted the Palestinians , but Egypt is a basket case itself .
Meanwhile , Israel will take care of itself .
Of course you would expel the natives. You have no problem doing that here and everywhere else in the world. White supremacy at its finest, just dressed up.
And offensive to LGBTQ people, Catholics, Chrisyians, and all other relegiona nd people who are not tolerated by Hamas and company
The “StopAntisemitism” operation is not a civil rights organization. It was established by a right-wing Islamophobe who from the very start of the enterprise set it up as a way to make money as income for the organizer.
All politics involves emotional incitement and money-money , on all sides .
All television news involves script readers breathlessly repeating what can incite the emotions of the audience , and rake in the advertising money for their big paychecks .
Islamophobia is not a real thing.
The fear of Muslims is not an irrational fear.
Andys’ words are representative of the thoughts of anti-Muslim bigots who encourage hatred and fear of Muslims.
Claiming to be against antisemitism (or just a subset of categories of racism) while supporting other forms of racism is part and parcel of not really caring about equal rights for all people regardless of background and probably just being a bigoted hypocrite.
People like you think special rights mean equal rights.
Standing for equal rights mean that I stand opposed to religious supremacists, racist supremacists and sex supremacists because: 1) all people have an inalienable right to be treated as co-equals regardless of religious background, ethnic background, family background, or sex/gender-related status; and 2) everyone — including people from communities which you hate or see as “inferior” — deserves to live with the same kind of freedom and basic respect and recognized human dignity that you and/or your favorite near and dear ones think you (and your favorites) should have.
A Palestine flag pin has the national flag of a nation recognized as such by over 100 UN member states. The same cannot he said for the flags of Nazi Germany or Apartheid South Africa. How many UN member states recognize the Nazi flag or apartheid era South African flag as contemporary national flags of a nation? More like zero than 100.
Enough with the flags . How many morons are represented by those U.N. flags ? Billions .
Thank you for the non-sequitur, but the only one who was talking about UN flags here is you.
I mentioned UN member states and UN member state-recognized nations, not the UN flags until you introduced that irrelevant response.
@GUWonder: But that’s not the condition United laid down. United said:
“We also allow flight attendants to wear flag pins that represent their pride in a place to which they may have a special connection.”
Which of course could be far more than countries recognized by some UN member states…
“But unless the flight attendant above spoke Arabic with a Palestinian dialect, she had no business wearing that pin in uniform.“
That’s a “standard” devised to try to limit and disappear the use of the Palestine national flag.
But it’s built on a ridiculous notion since now Palestinians speak Arabic with just about each and every dialect of Arabic that the linguists can easily identify. Or should we ban American flag pins from being worn by Americans who speak English with a British accent and use peculiar British dialects when speaking English? It’s no less ridiculous to ban Americans from wearing the US flag pin just because of how someone else thinks of the American speaking with a “different” accent or dialect in English.
@GU … Only the British write English correctly . It is not a matter of dialect … it is a matter of proper study .
Enough with the flag pins already . Neither Fiorello LaGuardia nor Eisenhower needed flag pins .
I don’t need a pin for others to see that I am on the side of rational thought and ethical behavior .
If a flight attendant speaks Arabic and learned in the West Bank or Gaza, then s/he should feel free to wear a flag pin designating that area. You make it far too complicated.
A huge proportion of Palestinians live and have been raised outside of the Palestinian territories. Who is anyone to say that they are any less Palestinian than Panama-born John McCain was American. They should have just as much a right to wear the Palestine national flag pin as someone born and raised in the hellhole of Gaza.
As long as contemporary national flag pins are allowed — as they are — then people should be able to wear whatever contemporary national flag pin that they want without these creative requirements for proof of affiliation or extent of affiliation formulated to depress the presence of a contemporary national flag.
I guess its cool to march into another Country and kill 1200 plus people and expect no retaliation? I’m make her work, brining me drinks. Wonder how she would feel having her family murdered, or friends raped. Freedom of Expression is a lovely right, to be protected at all cost.
@Cam … +1 . Morons will do what morons do , and Israel won’t let their guard down again , I hope .
She’s wondering the same about you, how you walk around supporting people that marched into her land, stole her homes, raped and killed her loved ones, caged her in, and took her people hostage for generations. Every day this had been happening to her. But you ignored it. Because those perpetrators of crimes against her Palestinian people are “chosen people”
Religion has been used to justify supremacy for centuries, most recently its how whites justified black slavery. But you’ll never listen
You benefit from your supremacy. Why would you care to equate another human to yourself? Modern day zionists literally have circumvented God’s teachings to justify creating laws protecting Jews and mistreating other goyem.
@GU … Only the British write English correctly . It is not a matter of dialect … it is a matter of correct schooling .
Enough with the flag pins already . Neither Fiorello LaGuardia nor Eisenhower needed flag pins .
If so, then you have supplied proof you are not English. But don’t let that stop you from wanting to be one of those British hooligans attacking hotels, Muslims and mosques in the UK after a lunatic UK-born Christian teenager stabbed a bunch of young girls at dance class in the country a few weeks back. Some of those UK-IRL CTA thugs were even side by side with supportive Israeli flags flying in their midst. It certainly wasn’t going to be a Palestine national flag those thugs would be raising or find to be supportive.
Equating the Palestinian flag to that of Nazi Germany and Apartheid South Africa is shocking. What a disappointing article. I won’t be reading your site again until there is a withdrawal of that comparison. Shameful.
Stick to travel related things and keep your ugly opinions to yourself.
Sometimes the truth hurts, Michael.
I’ll probably be called antisemetic for this, but what is the ratio of deafhs on each side? Most of what I read seems to put it ar 20X or more (with the Israelis coming off better). If I’m wrong I would love to see the stats. I can see retaliation, but sometimes it just seems like overkill (literally). I don’t think either side will stop as long as the other is around.
Maybe it’s like when there are a few US citizen deaths on a plane crash get a lot more attention than if it’s “just” people from other countries.
Wearing a flag in support of a country being overrun and exploited by another country is not anti semitic. This continuous use of playing the “anti semitic” card just because someone inconveniently disagrees with another person’s viewpoint is so manipulative it’s disgusting.
I never called it that…
She looks like one of those childless cat ladies. Aka queen kameltoes base.
She’s probably already had a few abortions.
If you are offended by her actions, support some Israeli cause. I don’t own a gun but in 2018 when UA took on the NRA, I signed up for a 5 year membership and I let 1K Voice know I didn’t support their activism. Not that they gave a shit. But for me it was a tangible way to push back.
They will Fight for Freedom of speech as long as it does not involve the Palestinians. By the way today on TV World Series Of Poker was on and a couple of Players had Large Israeli Flags hanging behind them. what are the odds, a Palestinian Flag could be Hung behind a Palestinian Player? By the way, The cameraman kept on zooming the Flag every few minutes. wondering who controls what?
Dear Matthew,
Sometimes in life, you have to accept the fact that you are a racist, genocidal twat who doesn’t mind dead Palestinian children.
This is one of those times…
For someone who’s travelled 135 countries, you are exceptionally pathetic.
Cheers
Dan E.
If the media (including Airline Blogs) were not controlled by THEM, we would not be discussing it. would we?
I dont like working with people like this because, mostly, they are the laziest and the biggest complainers. When I am at work I am there to work. My opinions and political affiliations are totally irrelevant! Having said that United has opened the door to this type of bullshine due to its wokeness. Maybe I should do an experiment of sorts and get flags of some of the most repressive regimes on earth and see what happens. I have also had the displeasure of having to serve some rather repugnant customers but I treated them professionally with courtesy and grace…..
Is this author really this myopic. The entire world views Isra3l as modern days nazis, not the Palestinians. Their own government killed the majority of its own people that day and have waged a genocide ever since. That’s what the world believes, which is why it’s equated with nazi Germany and South African apartheid regularly globally. In many cases much worse as has been documented. 50,000 people killed, based on lies while it commits the most egregious brutality of this century. Being charged with genocide by the icc, the rhetoric by its leaders, by the world, a criminal country built on brutal ethnic cleansing. The world sees it for what it is, the last remnant of western colonialism that has always used violence and blamed the victim for its crimes. It’s a psychopathic and sick state with openly racist expansionist goals and it’s protected and propped up by the US. A society fighting for the right to r*pe prisoners, really, that’s what you’re defending? Massacring children and women, the lancet said two months ago, at least 186,000 people have likely died due to this genocide, genius. Keep pointing fingers, people aren’t buying it anymore.
I would wear a NAMBLA pin, something that is near and dear to me.
Wearing a palestinian pin is controversial because palestine is run by a terrorist organization called Hamas. Nobody is marching in the streets to depose Hamas. In fact quite the opposite, the majority of Palestine supports what happened on October 7th. If you dont see why that is controversial, you need your head examined.
Matthew you had no problem with a Palestinian flag several years ago in one of your Trip Reports…
You quote:
“I honestly felt sorry for her, and noticed a Palestinian flag lapel pin on her uniform. I figured I would try to start up a conversation with her, if she was willing to engage.
When she came to collect my plate, I thanked her profusely for heating up my meal. She nodded indifferently. Then I asked her if she was Palestinian, noting her pin. A shocked look spread across her face and she even cracked a smile for a moment.”
https://liveandletsfly.com/winning-over-a-cranky-flight-attendant/
That was before 10/07/2023…
But thank you for pointing to that – I do want peace in the Middle East and peace between Isreal and Palestine. I wish Hamas would surrender. It’s heartbreaking to see the carnage, even if I think the alternrative could be even worse and even more unjust.
7/10 or not that FA from your Trip Report is still Palestinian and the mass banning of Palestinian flags helps to minimize the identity of Palestinians (just look at all the videos of the Israeli settlers saying Palestinians don’t exist as a people and is just a terrorist ideology), especially as they are for better or worse a stateless people.
Folks need to stop equating the Palestinian flag with Hamas – Hamas has their own flag (that is green and white). The Palestinian flag that we see today has been used off and on since the 1920s and predates the founding of Hamas by almost 70 years.
I do agree with the notion that organizations should ban frontline employees from wearing flags of foreign states. A Palestinian flag will undoubtably offend some, as would an Israeli or KSA flag.
Leave your politics at home and just do your job. Nobody gives a shit what you think.
I am Kurdish from Iraq and proudly display the Kurdish flag whenever I get a chance. We came to the US in the 1980’s when I was 10.
We don’t have our own nation but we are proud to call ourselves Kurdish first and Iraqi second.
Arabs from Palestinian descent should have every right to display and wear a Palestinian flag just the same as me wearing a pin with a Kurdish flag or a Canadian wearing a pin with the Canadian flag.
I am concerned that you label the Palestinian flag as a symbol of terror or being anti Jewish.
The small handful that is Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and their culture.
You also forget to mention that Palestinians have been living with a boot on their neck since 1967 and this is no different than apartheid was in South Africa. They are second class citizens and they deserve better than what Israel is doing to them.
Hamas, ISIS, Hezbollah, and all those groups that push a violent agenda need to be eradicated.
Israel has a right to exist and feel safe, but so do the Palestinians.